RED Development nears full occupancy at Aspen Place at The Sawmill

RED Development announced that its Flagstaff shopping center Aspen Place at The Sawmill is 93-percent leased for retail space with letters of intent for the remaining 7,000 square feet, a milestone that marks the successful turnaround of the once-struggling development.

Acquired out of default by RED Development in 2010 when the 45,300-square-foot shopping center was just partially completed, Aspen Place today is a thriving, major shopping hub that is home to Flagstaff’s only Whole Foods Market and REI, with a total of 134,000 square feet of retail.

More recent openings that are also new to market include Barre 3, which opened in the spring, and Orange Theory, Local Juicery and Brush & Board, which opened over the summer. By the end of the first quarter of 2018, Whisk & Whiskey restaurant; Café Paleo Brio; McSweeney, an Aveda Salon; HuHot Mongolian Grill; Ahi Poke Bowl; and Lia Leaf Tea House are all expected to open.

“The turnaround of Aspen Place is a great example of bringing the right mix of retailers to meet a community’s needs and we are very proud to say that many of the retailers we have brought in have been brand-new to the market,” said Mike Ebert, managing partner at RED Development. “As a result, the center will be at 100-percent occupancy very soon and we understand that the apartments are also nearing the fully leased mark at 95-percent occupancy.”

In the years that followed the acquisition, RED executed a build-to-suit lease agreement in 2013 with outdoor retailer and co-op REI, which opened shortly thereafter, and sold retail pads to Dutch Bros Coffee, Alliance Bank of Arizona and Pacific Dental Services, with Whole Foods Market purchasing the center’s existing grocery retailer. Additionally, RED sold nearly three acres for the development of apartments which opened in 2015 with RED maintaining ownership of the 32,000-square-foot ground floor retail portion.

Located in close proximity to Downtown Flagstaff and Northern Arizona University, Aspen Place is the city’s premier commercial center offering a lively and comfortable mix of 31 retailers, restaurants and services that complement the Northern Arizona lifestyle.